After speaking with municipal councillors Tuesday evening, Mark Little, Suncor’s executive vice-president of upstream operations, announced the change in an email the next morning.

“There’s no community on the surface of this earth that’s more important to us than Fort McMurray,” he said. “We’re hoping and encouraging any and all Fort McMurray residents to apply for any and all jobs in the region and join Suncor.”

Fort Hills is located 90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray and will be the most northern mining project in the oilsands once it opens.

Suncor owns a 50.8% stake in the project, with Total E&P Canada and Teck Resources owning the remainder. The project is designed to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day over a 50-year lifespan.

Last week, Suncor argued the mine’s remoteness made it difficult to hire locally, and would be a fly-in/fly-out camp-based project. Job postings were posted online looking for workers living in or near Edmonton, Calgary and several communities in British Columbia.

On Wednesday, spokesperson Sneh Seetal said Suncor will begin working on a plan to move qualified workers to Fort Hills if they are living in Fort McMurray.

“We want, and absolutely need, qualified people regardless of where they are located,” she said. “I understand people in Fort McMurray felt they were turned away. We apologize, because that was not our intention.”

The company also plans to host a job fair in Fort McMurray before the end of the new year, and will also include information on the trades and upgrading skills relevant to Suncor’s operations.

“If a Fort McMurray resident feels they were turned away, I would ask they would reapply or attend the career fair,” she said.

Late last week, Wildrose leader Brian Jean sent a letter to the company asking them to reconsider their policy.

“Suncor’s an awesome part of our community, but it just seemed very contrary to the interests of what was in the interests of the local economy,” said Jean on Tuesday evening. “I’ve always believed it was important to consider locals first, Albertans second and other Canadians third.”